1. Field Of The Present Invention:
The present invention relates generally to the art of packaging, and more specifically, it relates to the art of packaging products in a manner in which the consumer of the product will be forewarned if tampering of the product has taken place through the package or if a package manufacturing failure has occurred.
2. Description Of The Prior Art:
The tampering of various products, especially pharmaceutical products, has become of national and international concern in recent years. Capsules which have been filled with cyanide have led to the deaths of numerous individuals in the United States, and many companies have eliminated capsules from the distribution chain as a form of dispensing medication. Threats by terrorist groups and the seemingly ever increasing number of dangerously homicidal individuals is causing fear among consumers and concern and expense to the companies which manufacture and sell products to consumers.
While most incidents reported to date relate to pharmaceutical products and capsules in particular, other medications in liquids, tablet and caplet form are also susceptible to being contaminated by small quantities of toxins. For example, tablets could easily be contaminated by drilling out a portion of the tablet and replacing it with a toxin. Liquid medications, could be mixed directly with the toxin. Moreover, the problem is not limited to pharmaceutical products, in that tampering with food or beverage products is likely to become more prevalent as more of these heinous crimes are committed.
Companies which manufacture and sell pharmaceutical and food and beverages products are taking steps to make tampering with the product more difficult. For example, many over-the-counter drugs and medications are now sold in containers which have a heat sealed foil closure which must be removed prior to use of the product. As of 1986, at least three deaths have occurred due to contamination of a product contained in a heat-sealed foil closure. Other medications are sold in packages which include a pull-ring system and a metal disc as a closure system for the package, the top including a score line designed so that the top may be torn away after the ring has been lifted. Other techniques include the packaging of products in cellophane or other plastic wrapping, the insertion of a regular container of medication into a separate outer container having a pull-off top, etc.
While the industry is now proclaiming that such packaging systems are "tamper proof", the fact is that the contents of such systems could easily be contaminated without opening the top of the container. Such advertising is misleading in view of the sophistication likely to be encountered from terrorist groups and others. For example, it is possible to drill a small hole through the side of the container and insert the contaminating toxin with a hypodermic needle. The drill hole could easily be disguised by someone having only minimal tools and sophistication in such matters. All prior art attempts known to the present inventor involve attempts to prevent tampering with the package (which the present inventor believes to be impossible), rather than the development of a packaging system which would warn the consumer prior to use if the package has been tampered with or, as is sometimes the case, the product has not been properly packaged.
Before proceeding to a description of certain patents which show packaging systems of the type described above, it should be mentioned here that numerous types of "child-proof" packages are now on the market. These devices are designed to prevent young children from gaining access to the contents of a container and include such well known systems as the lip and gap system in which arrows must be aligned to allow the container to be opened, or the type of system used by many druggists in which the container closure must be pushed downwardly and turned to gain access to the container's contents. Numerous other child-proof systems are in common use today, and no claim is made by the present inventor that, in and of itself, the use of child-proof systems are unique.
It should also be mentioned prior to a discussion of certain patents that prior to the advent of modern can-openers, especially electric can-openers, certain food products were sold with a tab and key opening system. For example, coffee has been sold in cans which were scored in such a manner that a strip could be wound around a key (typically provided on the top of the can) to release a vacuum within the can and separate the top of the can from the body of the container. Coffee companies advertised that the vacuum released by the opening of the can provided an indication of product freshness.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,158, issued Aug. 29, 1961 for "Severable Sealing Means For Reusable Packages", Tupper discloses a "tamper resistant" container for a variety of products, including pharmaceuticals. The patent discloses a plastic, snap fit lid having a horizontal flange, the lid being designed to be placed over a container having an upstanding portion to be engaged by a snap fit ring and a horizontal flange below such portion. The mating flanges of the lid and container are thermally or adhesively bonded together and score lines are provided in each flange. A weak connection is thereby provided between the inner and outer sections of the flanges. A notch is also provided at one location along the mating flanges, so that the consumer can tear away the outer portion of the flanges which have been welded together. Access to the container is provided by deforming the lid or the container and pushing the lid off the container. The container and the lid are described as being reusable.
In Wheeler's U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,475 issued Aug. 23, 1977 for "Caps and Containers", a closure assembly is described as being both "tamper-proof" and child resistant. The closure and the container include two beads, over which the closure is press-fitted during packaging. A lower bead on the cap seals against the container, that bead being a portion of a tear strip located between the first and the second beads of the container. After the tear strip is removed, a lug and gap child-resistant closure is provided. As mentioned previously, neither this patent, nor the Tupper patent are, in fact, "tamper-proof" in that the product could be contaminated through the container itself. Neither patent discloses any system for warning the consumer if tampering or a package manufacturing failure has occurred.
Another system involving a tear strip is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,803 issued Aug. 1, 1978 to Irvine for "Tamperproof Container And Cap Assembly". In the device described here, a container has a radially extending flange which cooperates with a skirt of the cap to prevent the cap from being removed until a portion of the cap skirt is removed. This patent differs from other simple tear strip designs in that the two ends of the tear strip are connected by a frangible membrane which must be ruptured by a tool before a pull tab becomes accessible. This patent also does not disclose a truly "tamper-proof" container or provide any warning to consumers that tampering or a package manufacturing failure may have occurred.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,638 issued May 22, 1984 for "Tamper-Resistant And Child-Resistant Closure And Container Assembly", Davis describes a container which has a mouth and a rim around the mouth. A cut-out is provided in the rim and in an annular closure below the rim to close the mouth of the container. A plug enters the mouth of the container to prevent access by children and a tear strip is provided. The patent indicates that if the plastic tear strip is in place, tampering has not occurred. This clearly is not the case as has been pointed out above. Pressure by the thumb, when the cap is aligned properly, permits access to the container and constitutes the child-proof feature of the container.
Koontz, et al in their U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,330 issued Nov. 26, 1974 for "Composite Closure Cap" describe a composite plastic and metal cap for containers, especially glass tumblers or the like. The cap has an outer plastic ring which engages the container and includes a central, disc-like metal cover. Lugs on the skirt of the cap snap over beads on the container rim to provide a seal, and the patentees disclose that vacuum containers may be closed using the cap. The patent focuses on means for making it easier to break the vacuum seal to allow easier removal of the lid. One system includes providing a vent and a penetrator. In one embodiment, the penetrator is arranged on bridge members so that when the bridge members are lifted upwardly the vent is opened. In another embodiment, a plastic ring attached to the plastic side portion is provided for lifting up the side portion and breaking the vacuum seal. The patent does not describe child-proof lids and does not mention a system for warning a consumer if the package has been tampered with or if a manufacturing or packaging failure has occurred. The vent hole in the preferred embodiment is defined by a circular score line which does not penetrate through the cover. A small portion of the score line is of lesser depth so that when the circular vent is opened, the punched-out portion of the vent is prevented from dropping inside the package. In many ways this feature is similar to the well known pop-top containers for beverage products. It is known to the present inventor that a system similar to that described in the Koontz patent is presently being used on glass containers for roasted nuts and perhaps other food products. The patent mentions tampering at Column 3, where it is disclosed that if the penetrator is moved to a certain position and the bridge has been ruptured, then a clear indication that someone has tampered with the sealed package will be presented. There is no teaching or suggestion in the patent of using the closure with plastic or metal containers, or of using the system in combination with child-proof devices such as those described above. Moreover, there is no suggestion in the patent that an audible puff of air entering the container occurs when the disc is ruptured.
A packaging system which would be adaptable for a wide variety of uses, which is relatively inexpensive to produce, which would easily combine with child-proof closure devices, which would be utilized for stackable containers, and which would give a clear audible puff of air as an indication to the consumer that tampering or a package manufacturing malfunction or failure has occurred will represent a significant advance in the art.